If it was much darker than expected with a pickup you know, then as you say it sounds like it's just a very dark bass.
In my very limited experience the matching of pickups and mics to basses is very much on a case by case (or rather bass by bass) basis - every instrument needs something different and it's a matter of trial and error.
You could try both though, could work well by the sound of it. Ideally you'd want to be able to EQ each pickup differently, to bring out their best characteristics, so maybe using a very small mixer with decent channel EQ, or an elaborate preamp of some sort, but that's another gear rabbit hole and it might be easier to try sone other mics and pickups.